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Do you need a VAT number to sell on TikTok Shop?
It depends on one thing above all: whether you are liable for VAT in a given EU country. Liability, not the platform, is what triggers the obligation. TikTok simply asks for the number once the tax rules already require you to hold one.
Three factors decide it: your status (are you a business acting as such), your turnover against the national thresholds, and where your goods are stored when they are sold. Cross any one of those lines and a VAT number stops being optional.
If you are established in the EU: liable from the first taxable sale
An EU business selling its own goods to consumers is the person liable for the VAT on those sales. You charge VAT at the rate of the country of consumption, you collect it, and you pay it to the competent tax authority of the country concerned. VAT rates vary from one country to another, so never assume a single figure across the EU.
For domestic sales below your national registration threshold you may still trade under a national exemption. The moment you ship cross-border to consumers in other member states and pass the EU distance-sales line of €10,000 per year, that comfort ends and you register, either locally or through the one-stop shop.
Small businesses: there is no EU-wide exemption
There is no single, EU-wide small-business VAT exemption you can rely on across TikTok Shop's markets. Exemptions exist, but they are national, and in practice they are reserved for businesses established in that country. If you are not established where your goods are stored or sold, you cannot lean on the local small-business scheme there.
That surprises a lot of first-time cross-border sellers. You might be perfectly exempt at home and still owe VAT, and a VAT number, the day your stock lands in another member state.
Where a VAT number is compulsory, and where it is lighter
In Germany and Italy a VAT number is required to open and run a TikTok Shop seller account. Both markets went live on TikTok Shop on 31 March 2025, and both make a local VAT registration a practical condition of trading. Elsewhere the requirement tracks your actual liability rather than a blanket platform rule.
| Country | VAT number to sell | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Required | Local storage and marketplace rules make a VAT number compulsory to trade |
| Italy | Required | A local VAT number (partita IVA) is mandatory to sell |
| Spain | Depends | Required once you hold stock there or cross the distance-sales rules |
| France | Depends | Required once you are liable; your existing status may otherwise suffice |
| Poland | Depends | A business ID is needed to register; a VAT number only once you are liable |
| Netherlands / Belgium | Depends | Required once you store goods locally or exceed the thresholds |
The pattern is simple. Two markets force the number up front. The rest wait until your stock or your turnover creates the liability, at which point registration is not a choice.
Which VAT number to give TikTok
Give TikTok your intra-EU VAT number, not your company registration number. They are two different identifiers with two different jobs, and confusing them is the single most frequent reason a Seller Center submission is rejected.
Company registration number is not a VAT number
Your company registration number identifies your business in the national commercial register. Your VAT number identifies you to the tax system for charging and reclaiming VAT. One proves the company exists. The other proves you are cleared to handle VAT.
Depending on the country, the two may even share digits, or they may look nothing alike. Sole traders sometimes only hold a tax identifier and no separate VAT number until they register, which is why TikTok asks for a "VAT number and/or tax ID as applicable" when a full VAT number does not yet exist.
EORI: the extra number you need to import
If you import goods into the EU, you also need an EORI number on top of your VAT number. The EORI identifies you to customs across the Union, and it is quoted on every import declaration. Your VAT number handles the tax on the sale. Your EORI handles the goods crossing the border.
You request the EORI once, and it stays valid for all your EU customs operations. Import without one and your goods can be held at the border until you produce it.
VIES: your number has to be active
A VAT number that is not active on VIES will be treated as invalid, by TikTok and by your business customers alike. VIES is the EU's public database for checking intra-EU VAT numbers. Registration and VIES activation are two separate steps, and the second one is not always immediate.
Before you enter anything in the Seller Center, check your number on VIES yourself. If it does not return a valid result, it is too early to submit it.
How to get an EU VAT number, step by step
A non-established seller registers for VAT in the member state where the obligation arises, and there is no turnover threshold once you hold stock there. The trigger is usually the stock: the day your goods are stored in a country, you owe a local registration in that country, before the goods even start selling.
Here is the sequence I take clients through:
- Pinpoint the country where the obligation arises: where your stock is held, or where you cross the distance-sales rules for local consumers.
- Gather your documents: incorporation certificate, proof of activity, and any existing VAT and EORI details. Some authorities ask for certified translations.
- File the registration with the competent tax authority of the country concerned. A fiscal representative or agent files this for non-established sellers, and is mandatory for sellers established outside the EU.
- Receive your local VAT number. Processing time varies widely by country, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.
- Activate it on VIES, confirming the number is switched on for intra-EU transactions before you trade or enter it anywhere.
Plan the calendar around the slowest step, which is rarely the registration itself and almost always the VIES activation and the document checks that come with a cross-border file.
How to enter your VAT number in the TikTok Seller Center
Enter your VAT number in the Seller Center exactly as it appears on your official documents, country prefix included, with no spaces. This is the step where most sellers lose a day, and it is entirely avoidable.
The path is straightforward:
- Open the TikTok Seller Center and go to your account settings.
- Find the tax information section under your business or finance settings.
- Select the country the number was issued in.
- Type the VAT number exactly as written on your certificate, prefix first.
- Save, then let the platform run its validation.
The format matters. A German number reads as `DE` followed by nine digits; an Italian one as `IT` followed by eleven. Match the case, keep the country prefix, and strip any spaces or punctuation that appear on a printed certificate but not in the machine-readable number.
If the number is refused or stuck as "pending", the reason is almost always one of these:
- The number is not yet active on VIES.
- It does not match the name or address the tax authority holds for you.
- The wrong country prefix was selected.
- Spaces or stray characters were pasted in from a document.
- A company registration number was entered instead of the VAT number.
Does TikTok collect the VAT for you?
TikTok becomes liable for the VAT in only two B2C situations. In every other case, you are. Under Article 14a of Directive 2006/112/EC, a marketplace is treated as the "deemed supplier", and pays the VAT itself, in these two cases:
- B2C goods imported into the EU with a value of €150 or less, sold to an EU consumer.
- B2C goods already located in the EU, sold by a seller who is not established in the EU.
Outside those two cases, the seller remains the person liable. That includes every B2B sale and every B2C sale by an EU-established business. The table below is the one to keep on hand.
| Situation | Who pays the VAT to the authority |
|---|---|
| B2C, goods imported ≤ €150 to an EU consumer | TikTok (deemed supplier, via IOSS) |
| B2C, goods already in the EU, seller not established in the EU | TikTok (deemed supplier) |
| B2C, goods already in the EU, seller established in the EU | You, the seller |
| B2B sales | You, the seller (reverse charge may apply) |
| Your stock movements and intra-EU transfers | You, always |
Even when TikTok collects the VAT on the sale, your own obligations do not disappear. You still register where you store goods, you still declare your intra-EU stock movements, and you still file the returns tied to those flows. Marketplace collection covers the sale, not the seller. The FAQ below links the dedicated guide on how the deemed-supplier rules play out in practice.
Storing with Fulfilment by TikTok (FBT)
The day your goods enter an FBT warehouse in an EU country, you owe a local VAT registration in that country, with no threshold. Holding stock in a member state is a taxable presence in its own right, independent of how much you sell. The registration comes first, then the goods.
As of August 2026, FBT warehouses are operational in Spain and Germany, and the network is expanding. Because the map keeps changing, confirm the current warehouse countries before you commit stock, and register wherever your inventory will actually be held. The mechanics of stock, transfers and local returns are covered in detail in our guide on Fulfilment by TikTok and VAT.
Selling as a non-established or foreign seller
If you sell into the EU without a company established there, you still register locally, and you may need a fiscal representative to do it. A business established in another EU member state can usually register directly. A business established outside the EU is generally required to appoint a fiscal representative, who registers and files in its name and shares liability with the authority.
The registration obligation is triggered the same way for everyone: stock in the country, or distance sales that cross the rules. Being "foreign" does not create an exemption. If anything, it adds a step. The practical route for setting up without a local entity is covered separately in the FAQ.
After registration: returns, OSS/IOSS and DAC7
Once you hold a VAT number, two things follow: you file VAT returns, and TikTok reports your activity to the tax authorities. These are the ongoing obligations, and they run for as long as your account is active.
On the returns side, you file locally in each country where you are registered. For cross-border B2C distance sales above the €10,000 per year EU threshold, the OSS one-stop shop lets you declare those sales through a single return instead of registering in every customer's country. For low-value imports up to €150, the IOSS scheme does the equivalent job at import. Both schemes date from the EU e-commerce VAT package of 1 July 2021.
On the reporting side, TikTok is caught by DAC7 (Directive (EU) 2021/514), in force since 1 January 2023, with the first reports filed by 31 January 2024. The platform reports your seller data to the tax authorities unless you stay below both exemption limits: fewer than 30 transactions and under €2,000 per year. In practice, any active seller is reported. The era of assuming marketplace income goes unnoticed is over.
For reference, TikTok invoices its own fees through TikTok Technology Limited, an Irish entity, under VAT number EU372030767. Its commission is a service supplied to you, so the reverse charge normally applies on your side when you are VAT-registered.
Need a hand with your TikTok Shop VAT number?
Getting the number is rarely the hard part. Getting it in the right country, active on VIES, and entered cleanly in the Seller Center before your stock arrives is where the time and the risk sit.
At Eurofiscalis, we register non-established and foreign sellers across the EU, act as your fiscal representative where the rules require it, and file the returns that follow, so your TikTok Shop launch is not held up by a rejected number. Talk to our team and we will map exactly which numbers you need, and in which countries, before you ship a single order.
FAQ
Can you sell on TikTok Shop without any VAT number?
No, not once you are liable for VAT. In Germany and Italy you need one to open the account at all. Elsewhere you can start only while you are genuinely below the thresholds and hold no local stock, and that window closes the moment either condition changes.
Do you need a VAT number in every TikTok Shop country?
No. A VAT number is compulsory up front in Germany and Italy, while in the other markets it becomes required only when your stock or your turnover creates a local liability. You register where the obligation arises, not in every country by default.
Do you need an EORI number as well as a VAT number?
Yes, if you import goods into the EU. The VAT number handles the tax on your sales; the EORI identifies you to customs on every import declaration. If you only move goods that are already inside the EU, you can learn how to get an EORI number when the time comes, but you may not need one yet.
Does TikTok charge VAT on its commission?
No, not usually on top of your invoice. TikTok's fees are a service supplied from its Irish entity, so when you are VAT-registered the reverse charge applies and you account for the VAT yourself. You still record it correctly on your return, even though no cash changes hands.
Do you have to register for VAT in each country where you store stock?
Yes. Holding goods in a member state creates a registration obligation there, with no turnover threshold, before the stock is even sold. For the cross-border B2C sales that follow, you can then manage the VAT on your TikTok Shop sales through OSS rather than filing a separate return in every customer's country.
Can you sell on TikTok Shop in the EU without setting up a local company?
Yes. You can register for VAT as a non-established business, and appoint a fiscal representative where one is required, without incorporating locally. The full route is set out in our guide on how to sell on TikTok Shop in the EU without a local company.
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